Auditors paint a 'Bleak Picture' of Flint school district finances

Last night, Flint school board members listened as auditors painted a bleak picture of the school district’s finances. The auditors blamed years of "poor internal controls" for the district’s big budget deficit. Auditors say they did not find any "financial misconduct."

The Flint school district’s deficit is more than ten million dollars. The district also owes the Genesee Intermediate School District nearly nine million dollars.

Larry Watkins is Flint’s interim school superintendent. He says the Flint school district will have to address its own budget deficit first.

“Right now we just do not have the money to pay $8.6 million to the [Genesee] I-S-D,” Watkins said after the meeting.

An official with the Genesee ISD told the Flint school board that her district would not and could not simply forgive the money owed.

Watkins says Flint school officials are working to be more transparent about the district’s troubled finances.